WND ‘Impossible for law-abiding people to exercise their right to bear arms’
Missouri Army National Guard Spc. Lauren Cabrera fires from an M4 carbine during a specialized law-enforcement weapons-qualification course at the Udairi Range Complex, Kuwait, Oct. 19, 2020. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Khylee Woodford)
By Jake Dima
Daily Caller News Foundation
A pro-Second Amendment group has sued a Pennsylvania sheriff’s office after the law enforcement body halted walk-in gun permit applications amid a coronavirus surge.
The Firearms Policy Coalition filed a lawsuit against Allegheny County and Sheriff William Mullen after the office halted all walk-in gun permit applications last week, according to a Sunday press release.
Mullen’s department announced in a Facebook post that only those with previously established appointments may continue the firearms license process.
“To protect the wellbeing and safety of Sheriff’s Office employees, as well as, the citizens we serve, the Sheriff’s Office cannot accept walk-in license or renewal applicants for Licenses to Carry Firearms at this time,” the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office wrote. “The Firearms Division will continue to welcome in-person applications and renewal applications from citizens holding previously scheduled appointments.”
The gun-rights group said the temporary shutdown of the permit process makes “it impossible for our clients to lawfully carry firearms in public, in violation of their fundamental right to bear arms,” the organization wrote in the release.
The Firearms Policy Coalition also targeted the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Robert Evanchick over the commonwealth’s handgun carry laws. State authorities mandate licenses for the concealed carry of handguns and carrying a firearm without one is a criminal offense, according to a state webpage.
“The defendants’ unconstitutional laws and policies have made it impossible for law-abiding people to exercise their right to bear arms,” the organization wrote.
“That is a policy choice that the Constitution takes off the table.”
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation at the time of publishing.
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
